ISLAMABAD, 28 June 2004 — The morning after President Pervez Musharraf nudged one prime minister into resigning and lined up two more to take his place, politicians and media decried the general’s disdain for Pakistan’s political parties.
Out goes Zafarullah Khan Jamali, who was Musharraf’s compromise choice after elections 20 months ago. Next up as prime minister will be Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, head of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and the strongest political powerbroker in the civilian polity.
But he is only a caretaker.
By the end of August, Musharraf’s favored choice, Shaukat Aziz, a former Citibank executive whom the general made his finance minister after seizing power in 1999 is to be prime minister under a transition plan announced late Saturday. “What Musharraf has done is extremely cynical,” Najam Sethi, editor of the Daily Times, said.
He saw the reshuffle strengthening Musharraf and decreasing the likelihood that he would honor a pledge to stand down as army chief by the end of the year.
“Shaukat Aziz won’t be managing politics. The Pakistan Army will do it for him,” said Asad Saeed, an independent political analyst in Karachi.
Announcing the changes, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, spokesman for the outgoing government, said there would be no change in Pakistan’s economic and foreign policies.
Musharraf survived two assassination attempts in December linked to Al-Qaeda, and uncertainty lingers over what would happen in Pakistan if he were suddenly removed from a political equation without strong institutions in place.
“If he’s not there, the whole system he’s built up will break down,” said Sethi.
Politicianss bemoan the way things are going. “One thing is clear that the establishment and the military rulers don’t want politics, Parliament and democracy to take strength,” said Liaquat Baluch, a leader in the opposition Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal.
